No PED's here: Ibanez's homer leads Phillies to victory

(AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

Couldn't have picked a better guy to be the hero for the Phillies tonight. Raul Ibanez, who had his name smeared by some blogger earlier in the week, was the perfect choice to lead the Phillies to a victory over the Mets. Ibanez broke a 3-3 tie in the top of the 10th inning by crushing a 3 run homer that carried the Phils to a 6-3 win and a series victory over the Mets in New York.

Ibanez has been all over the media this week, with his strong backlash against all of the allegations that he could be using performance-enhancing drugs. His game-winning shot tonight won't keep him out of the news, but at least now he will be talked about for the right reasons. By the way, for those keeping track at home, Ibanez now has 21 homers on the season, just 12 away from his career high. He is on pace for 59 homers and 162 RBI for the season, numbers that would easily win him an MVP award and would absolutely demolish his career highs. PED's or not, and I firmly believe NOT, those are some crazy numbers.

One more thing to note from the game: Ryan Madson saved his second game in a row after a near-perfect bottom of the 10th inning. If he keeps mowing down hitters like this, I see no reason for the Phillies to rush back Brad Lidge. If the Phils can get some steady work from Scott Eyre, J.C. Romero and Chad Durbin in the 8th inning, then they won't miss Lidge at all.